Shortly before Christmas 1933 in Depression-scarred Canton, Ohio, 75 families in distress received cash gifts from an anonymous benefactor, after responding to a newspaper ad with descriptions of their hardships. That benefactor was Sam Stone, grandfather of bestselling author Ted Gup (The Book of Honor). After discovering the letters 75 years later in an old suitcase, Gup set out to unveil the lives behind them, searching out records and relatives to flesh out the family sagas hinted at in the letters. What emerges is a compassionate chronicle of America during the Depression, as well as deeply buried details about Stone, whose affinity for strangers in need traces back to an impoverished upbringing in Romania, long-hidden from immigration authorities.